How you knit says a lot about how you live. I love to knit and I believe that anything that is worth doing is worth doing right. Often times it’s a lot more about the process than the finished project.

My husband’s reaction to the Erin’s Bears charity – ‘I didn’t know the need to clothes poor teddy bears was so great!” I told him bears don’t ‘need’ the clothes (but I am sure they like clothes as much as the next bear). The people who really need the help are the kids that will receive the bears at Camp Erin. Camp Erin is a bereavement camp for kids who have lost a parent, sibling or friend run by Hospice of Snohomish County. For the 6th year now, kids will be greeted at Camp Erin this September with a well-dressed bear on their bed to help them deal with their loss. The beautifully knit clothes come courtesy of local knitters.
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Wow – “Destination:Yarn” shop hop was a test of endurance with lots, and lots of perks and I did it! Okay, so finishing the yarn tour for the second year in a row shouldn’t get me a medal, but it did grow my stash a little and add 24-plus patterns to my file library.
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2pm Sunday – Hilltop Yarn Hilltop Yarn is a charming little knit house on the top of Queen Anne Hill. They gear to younger, hipper knitters – not your mother’s knitting shop. The staff and the store knit patterns all fit the image. I like the vibe, but sometimes it can seem a little click-ish … just go ahead and ask for help and you will feel at home in no time. I got a great tour from clerk and fellow blogger Kat Chapman. They have a little bit of everything here. And if you were looking for choice for your one-skein pattern – this was the place to be. I went for the fingerless gloves, but the ear-flap hat was very tempting. If you were feeling fishy – there was this soap cozy or even your very own knit fish. They also have sock yarn that was specially dyed for their anniversary. It’s called Sundae. You may have heard they suffered an electrical fire earlier this year – no fear, all the smokey, stinky yarn has been removed (I hear the sale was amazing) and it’s business as usual.
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1pm Sunday- Full Circle Yarn I had forgotten I had been to Full Circle Yarn once before – looking for a local store that stocked crewel threads and fabric (seems no one in town does, but they helped me find a good make-do). The one-skein project was a cute clutch that could either be felted or not. Intead of being seamed or even knit in the round – it was designed as a double-knit pattern. Before you go getting all freaked out about double-knitting, store owner Patricia showed me exactly what to do. Full Circle owner teaching Nicole about double knittingIt was so much easier that I had imagined (my last contact with double knitting was Sister Purl learning how do double knit with three colors – I see now that maybe it was all those colors that was making it so hard to understand). Full Circle owner teaching Nicole about double knitting Video to come.
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9:35 Sunday – Churchmouse Yarns and Teas I think Sunday is the best day to head to Churchmouse. You can park your car downtown for free and then walk on the Bainbridge Ferry for just $6.70. You can knit the whole way over (or for a fee, you can even get online and blog) – only a 35 minute ride. And the trip back is free. Not to mention the beautiful scenery and the chance to spend time on a boat. It’s a short walk into town …. But if it’s raining or you’ve got health problems that slow you down you might want to go for a super quick taxi ride into Winslow.
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230p Saturday – So Much Yarn So Much Yarn is located in the downtown Belltown neighborhood on First Street. It’s a cozy shop with lots to offer – everything from affordable wools and cottons to sparkly novelty yarns. They have a good selection of patterns and a comfy couch area along with a classroom table in the back. Owner Lauren explains that they organize their yarn by gauge – separating the wools on the north wall, the cottons on the south wall and the novelty sparkles in the middle. Lauren had two one-skein projects available for this year’s crawl: moss stitch sock that made me want to try knitting socks again and a simple triangle scarf with some fun novelty yarn. And you can’t miss the store’s other attraction – Lauren’s do and store mascot Fiona. You can usually find her longing behind the desk or maybe soaking up some sun (and laying in a yarn box) at the front of the store.
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1:45p Saturday – Tricoter Knitting Specialists. I finally got out to a few yarn stores after fighting with the internet company all morning long. Luckily all I have left is 6 stores, all pretty close to home. Tricoter Knitting Specialists is in the East Madison Park neighborhood. The store is filled with lush fine-quality yarns – I didn’t see many of the yarn world’s workhorses on the shelves. So this probably isn’t the place to buy washcloth yarn. Their stash is organized by color – which makes for a visual treat. New yarns fill the counter tops. The center of the shop reserved for knitting tables. The owners have written a few knitting books – including a new skirt book. Lindy said they have patterns available for all the samples in the store. I like that they have a steaming table available for their customers to block their projects and get a great finished look. The one-skein project is a beautiful lace scarf – with lots of interest. And the yarn is available in a bunch of colors
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So the total on the rent-a-PT-cruiser when I turned t back in at the rent-a-place last night was 369. I will add that up with my miles driven this weekend to come up with my gas price per store count.
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